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| Currency of France 500 New Francs Moliere |
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| France banknotes 500 New French Francs Moliere |
French banknotes, French paper money, French bank notes, France banknotes, France paper money, France bank notes, collection of French paper money, Billets de banque en franc français, collection de papier-monnaie billets français, Les billets de la Banque de France, Papier monnaie - Billets France.
Obverse: Portrait of Molière by Pierre Mignard (Musée Condé - Château de Chantilly). In the background - spectators and an orchestra pit in a theater of the seventeenth century, Palais-Royal, Paris.
Reverse: Portrait of Molière. In the background - Les Divertissments de Versailles, temporary theater built before the Grotte de Thétys for the revival of Molière’s "le Malade imaginaire" (The Imaginary Invalid), (18 July 1674)- engraving by Jean le Pautre.
Le Malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid) was Molière’s final play, first performed in February 1673 in Paris. A satire of the medical profession and a comedy-ballet, or a comedy combined with song and dance, the play contains a good deal of farce and was written to amuse King Louis XIV. It is also a superb character study of a hypochondriac, or a patient obsessed with being ill, and it contains a brilliant social and political commentary on Paris in the 1670s. Many critics have even found a subtle but powerful philosophical strain in the work, and it is an excellent example of the stylized comedy-ballet popular in Louis XIV’s courtly theater. Molière himself played the main role of the hypochondriac Argan, and famously coughed up blood during his fourth performance, he collapsed on stage in a fit of coughing and haemorrhaging while performing in the last play, Molière insisted on completing his performance. Afterwards he collapsed again with another, larger haemorrhage before being taken home, where he died a few hours later, what came to be known as a bitter irony, given the play’s subject of imaginary illness. Molière suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis, possibly contracted when he was imprisoned for debt as a young man.
500 francs Molière banknote was designed by Jean Lefeuvre and engraved by Jules Piel and André Marliat. The dominant colors are red-brown and ocher. The dimensions are 182 mm x 97 mm.
Watermark: Armande Béjart - French actress, one of the most famous French stage actors of the 17th-century. She belonged to the Béjart family, a famous theatre family in 17th-century France. She was the daughter of Madeleine Béjart. In 1643 Madeleine co-founded, with Molière, the Illustre Théâtre.
500 French francs Molière banknote is marked "NF" new francs. The 500 French francs Molière banknote created by the Banque de France on July 2, 1959, issued from 2 December 1960 . 500 francs Molière bill will be replaced by 500 francs Pascal.
This banknote printed polychrome intaglio belongs to the series of "creative and famous scientists" who dominate the choice of thumbnails. April 5, 1956, the Bank of France was planning to issue new banknote of 50,000 francs featured the portrait of Georges Clemenceau but after announcement of the monetary reform Bank chose design banknotes with a portrait of Moliere. In fact this banknote will be the only true foundation for new banknotes denominations in "new francs", incorporating other banknotes types that already made in 1950s (ie Victor Hugo, Richelieu, Henry IV and Bonaparte).
Printed from July 1959 to January 1966, this banknotes has gradually withdrawn from circulation as of March 9, 1970, and ceased to be legal tender 30 April 1971.